Midnight Disaster ~FINALIST Watty Awards 2012~

Chapter 25 (Revised 4/27/2019)

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I came back to consciousness, it was with pain in the base of my stiff neck. I rolled over onto my back, staring straight up at the high ceiling. It was dark, and the sounds of snores filled the air all around me. I reached absently for my phone before remembering that I didn't have it.

With a twitch of my nose, I let my hands slump back to the floor, trying my best to go back to sleep. I don't know how long I lie there, tossing and turning, but for all my efforts, I couldn't convince myself to relax. Sighing in defeat, I glanced at the door on the other side of the room. It was held shut with a couple of heavy boards arranged in a criss-cross pattern. If something really wanted to get in here, I didn't think those would be enough to stop them, but I said nothing on the subject.

Instead, I started to think about the other exits in here. Every building had a fire or back exit of some kind, right? Was the one in this community center boarded up like the front door or had no one else come to the realization that we would need to protect more than one entry point?

I stood up, suddenly desperate to find out.

Cameron lifted his head with a snort, glancing up at me from his place on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to see if there's a back exit in this place. Just in case."

"Lay back down, Maya. This can wait until tomorrow," he insisted, words slurred by sleep.

I bit my lip, unable to point out the fact that once I set my mind on something, I couldn't deter my focus until my task was complete.

"You're going to go anyway, aren't you?" Cameron guessed after a minute.

"Yeah."

"Want me to come?"

"It's okay, Cameron. You're tired. I'll just be on the other side of the building."

"Okay," Cameron agreed at last, head flopping back onto his makeshift bed. "Be careful."

I gave him one last admiring glance as he began to snore, before I stepped away from him with as quiet of steps as I could manage. I crept over to the nearest wall and pressed my back to it as I tried to see through the heavy darkness to the other side of the community center. The last thing I wanted to do was step on somebody.

Even though we were all practically strangers, it was obvious to see who felt comfortable with who. There were groups among the sleeping forms—the teenagers in one corner, the clergy in another. Even Clarissa and Brianna had curled up together. The biggest thing I noticed was just how far away they all were from the place that Cameron and I claimed.

I wondered if that was intentional.

With a sigh, I pushed the thought away, swiping a shaggy lock of hair from my face as I wove through the bodies on the floor. Finally, finally, I made it through and into the kitchen. Just as the clergy had promised, there were stacks of food and water, but it didn't seem to offer much else. I guessed we had maybe a weeks' worth of supplies, but there were so many of us that that was probably just an optimistic guess on my part.

I went through the kitchen, to the hallway leading toward the bathroom, and that was where I found the back exit. It was carefully boarded as well, the glowing red "Exit" sign an eerie beacon. Satisfied with my search, I made my way back to Cameron, curling up on my spot once again.

"Find anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, there's a back exit, but that's not what I'm thinking about. They weren't kidding earlier, when they said we didn't have many supplies."

"That bad?" Cameron asked.

"I'm thinking there's maybe enough for a few days at most if we all plan on eating."

Cameron let out a low whistle. "That's not much."

"No, it's not. We're going to have to leave here before the week is over."

Cameron shrugged. "Maybe Miles and his friend will have moved on by then."

A wiggle in my gut told me otherwise. "You think it'll be that easy?" I asked.

"You never know," Cameron said. "Maybe they'll go home."

"I doubt it. The look Miles gave me before..." my voice trembled and I had to swallow down my fear to force it out. "The look Miles gave me before he bit me was venomous, like he hated me, and I have a feeling that he's not going to leave until he gets us, Cameron."

"That's ridiculous, Maya. We cared for him. We kept him safe. He doesn't hate us."

I said nothing, instead choosing to adjust the bandages on my neck. It wasn't love that caused someone to take a bite out of another person.

"What if there are more of them, Cameron? Besides just Miles and his friends. What if it's an invasion?"

Cameron was quiet, too quiet, and I hated that I had asked the question.

"Then we'll have to fight," he said at last.

"We'll lose."

Cameron reached over to set his hand on the side of my face, forcing me to look at him. "I always used to think challenges were fun, and this one won't be, but that doesn't mean we can't win."

"I've never been able to win at our challenges," I pointed out. "And those were just games. How in the hell can I ever hope to beat something like Miles?"

"Tomorrow we will figure it out," he promised.

I nodded, tucking my lip between my teeth. To me, figuring it out sounded a lot like a suicide plan.

"Good night, Maya," he said, hand dropping to my waist as he closed his eyes.

My heart fluttered at the unfamiliar feeling of his hand on such an intimate part of my body. "Good night, Cameron," I replied, hoping the nervousness didn't show in my tone.

Cameron was asleep in seconds, but I couldn't do the same. I stared at his peaceful face, wiping a lock of blonde hair from his eyes as I scooted just a bit closer. I didn't want to think about what it would mean to lose this challenge—the stakes were too high.